Blake Krass breaks down his prediction and pick for Friday’s game between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks take on the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Detroit. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena.

The Knicks are 1.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total for this game set at 222.5 points. Let’s get into my preview, prediction and pick for this Pistons vs. Knicks game.

Pistons vs. Knicks prediction, preview

The Knicks are playing their best basketball of the season coming into this game. They were on a bad run that had the alarm bells going off in New York, but something has clicked recently. The Knicks have rattled off eight straight wins, most recently in double overtime against Denver. Now, New York sits in second place in the Eastern Conference and is within 4.5 games of the Pistons for first place. A win in this game would have the Knicks comfortably within striking distance of first place. New York added Jose Alvarado at the deadline, who should help the team on the defensive perimeter, especially while Deuce McBride is out with an injury. The Knicks are looking to keep their great defensive run going, after only allowing 107.2 PPG in January.

Detroit is sitting atop the Eastern Conference and having a special season. However, it’s coming off a bad loss to the Wizards last time out. That could easily be chalked up to a sandwich spot in between a win over the Nuggets and this game against the team chasing them down in the conference. While it was a bad loss to take for Detroit, there is no reason for alarm. However, the Pistons are a bit banged up tonight, which could play a big factor in this game. Tobias Harris missed the Wizards game and is a game-time decision for tonight. Meanwhile, Jalen Duren got hurt in last night’s game and sat out the second half. He is also a game-time decision tonight. If both players miss, Detroit would be very short-handed in the frontcourt.

Pistons vs. Knicks pick, best bet

My best bet for this game is on the Knicks Moneyline. When a team is on a winning run like this, it’s often best to stay out of its way. This winning streak has assuaged some concerns about the Knicks. They had been struggling on the road all season, but beat both the 76ers and the Raptors on the road lately, two of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. While Jalen Brunson is stuffing the scoresheet as usual, the Knicks frontcourt is playing the best it has all season. Knicks fans were starting to clamor for Karl-Anthony Towns to be traded away for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Maybe that was a wake-up call for Towns, because he is playing some of his best basketball of the season. Additionally, Mitchell Robinson is playing some of the best basketball of his career. If the Pistons are missing even one of Jalen Duren or Tobias Harris, the Knicks should dominate the interior. They then have Jalen Brunson to close the game out, something he does better than almost anyone in the NBA.

Best Bet: Knicks ML (-115)